A Long, Hard, Fight
by TheProphetBVB
Summary: AU, the Battle of Hogwarts is lost. Join Harry, Hermione, and their children as they try to finally end the second war after 20 years. First writing attempt.
1. Prologue

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

Time seemed to stand still as Molly Weasley stepped between her daughter and Bellatrix Lestrange. The Battle of Hogwarts was going badly, but Molly would be damned if she lost her only daughter to this war, especially after losing Fred earlier in the night. The loss of one of her sons seemed to change something in Molly Weasley, as she no longer held back, she was dueling to kill. And kill she did, after a fierce fight between the two, Bellatrix's arrogance got the better of her, and with a well-placed cutting curse, Voldemort's right hand woman fell.

Voldemort shouted in rage and a burst of energy spewed forth, knocking any nearby to their feet. The end of the duel between Molly and Bellatrix seemed to breathe new life into the fight, and many on both sides were falling. Amycus Carrow was dispatched by a quick cutting curse from Arthur Weasley, while Cormac McLaggen was killed by Amycus's sister, Alecto. Professors Slughorn, Trelawney, and Flitwick were fighting Voldemort, and losing. Slughorn took a killing curse to the face, and Trelawney was overtaken by a cruciatus. Flitwick was blown back by a reducto that hit the ground in front of him. The tides were turning. While it seemed that there was hope for victory when it was revealed that Harry Potter had survived once again, the defenders of Hogwarts were quickly falling to the Death Eaters. Minerva McGonnagal had been fighting Lucius Malfoy when a sickly purple curse hit her from the side and she went down, no one knew if she was dead or alive. Neville Longbottom attempted to go after Nagini but was blasted out of the great hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were fighting their way toward Voldemort to try and end things, but it was slow going, dodging and deflecting curses, engaging enemies they couldn't avoid. Ron and Harry stunned Augustus Rookwood, while Hermione disarmed and bound Fenrir Greyback, and their path was clear. Harry began to engage Voldemort, with Ron and Hermione guarding his flanks.

Neither Harry nor Voldemort paid much attention to the battle raging around them, both far too focused on defeating their quarry. Harry was losing. While nothing lethal had gotten through to him yet, he bore several cuts and bruises. He was breathing heavily from trying to keep up with an opponent with 50 years more dueling experience than he, and a bone breaking jinx had broken through his shield and shattered his left arm. Voldemort was almost a blur, his wand waving in complicated patterns, a deadly dance between a predator and his prey, but even he was beginning to show signs of fatigue.

Without warning, a great ball of fire erupted between the two combatants, stilling the battle that was ravaging the Great Hall. Fawkes the phoenix had appeared, stunning most into silence. The former familiar of Albus Dumbledore had not been seen since the great wizard's funeral almost a year ago. The bright red bird created a wall of fire between the Death Eaters and the remaining defenders, and to the shock of all in the room, began to speak, his voice booming out not unlike a howler.

"Harry Potter, you cannot win this fight. Not while one Horcrux remains. My barrier will only hold for a few minutes. Gather your forces and leave this place while you can. This is not how this war should end."

A very surprised and quiet group began to gather what was left of the defenders to retreat from Hogwarts. Arthur and Molly Weasley took the lead, helping up injured friends and checking on those who were unconscious, to make sure they were still alive. Kingsley Shacklebolt took it upon himself to carry Minerva's unconscious form from the hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione brought up the rear, making sure none were left behind. They had almost reached the door when Fawkes's barrier fell. Voldemort and his army rushed forward as the defenders began to apparate away. In desperation Voldemort flung one last Avada Kedavra at Harry's back, and time slowed to a crawl. Ron Weasley was one of the few who saw what was coming, and in a split second decision, pushed his best friend out of harm's way, taking the bright green curse in his place. Time went from a crawl to a complete stop as Ron's body fell to the ground, the shouts of Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys echoing around the room. They just barely had time to grab his body and apparate away, a second killing curse hitting the ground where Harry had been just a moment before.

The broken and bloodied defenders reappeared at Grimmauld Place, and there was immediate chaos. The shock and horror of the loss of all those people, the loss of the battle, and the fact that they had essentially lost the war, was too much. Most of the chaos and voices were looking to Harry for their next move, but he and Hermione were still frozen in shock, staring down and Ron's broken form. Kingsley finally restored order and silence with a cannon blast from his wand and began to take charge.

"Okay everyone, we need to regroup. Madam Pomfrey, please set up a ward for the injured upstairs. The rest of us that are healthy need to split up and go into hiding, that will make us harder to locate. We need to get safe houses set up. We have here at Grimmauld and the Burrow, along with a few other houses scattered across the country. Let's make a list and start getting those that don't need medical attention out to their houses. Each house will be placed under a new Fidelius."

Once the wounded were moved upstairs and the survivors were divided amongst the safe houses, they had a small memorial service for those lost in the back garden. The weasleys were solemn, mourning the loss of Fred and of Ron. After the memorial, those who were staying at other safe houses left, with the Weasleys returning to the Burrow for the first time in months. Harry and Hermione were two of the few remaining at Grimmauld, along with the wounded, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Flitwick. Everyone had retired to their rooms and settled down for a long overdue sleep. Harry had taken a shower, and just crawled into bed and doused the light when there was a knock on the door. With a slight groan he got up, lit his wand, and opened it, surprised to find Hermione, looking scared and exhausted.

"Harry….. Can I stay in here with you? I – I don't want to be alone tonight."

Harry opened the door without a word and stepped back so she could enter, then closed the door and returned to his bed. Hermione hesitated for a moment before laying down on the other side of the bed. Almost subconsciously, Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her close, before they both succumbed to their exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

_20 Years Later August 21_ _st_ _, 2018_

"Absolutely not!" Hermione's hand slammed on the table, glaring at her husband. "If you think I'm going to let my barely of age son risk his life you're out of your mind!"

"Hermione it's the only way. We have barely enough allies left as it is to keep the safehouses protected and launch this raid. He will be by my side the entire time" Harry placating attempted to calm his wife.

The son in question, Daniel James Potter, sat on the other side of the table with an annoyed look on his face, waiting for his chance to interject and remind his parents that because he was of age now, it was his choice. Besides, they had been fighting this wad since they were much younger than he was now. His sister, Lillian Grace, was more focused on her conversation with her godbrother Teddy, discussing Teddy's battle strategy for the upcoming raid. Lillian, a potions prodigy, would be staying behind in order to assist any wounded.

In the 20 years that had passed since the loss of the Battle of Hogwarts, the Order and the DA had become fractured. Harry and Hermione estimated they had fewer than 50 members left now, with so many dying or just fleeing the country. Harry and Hermione had married in a small ceremony about a year after the battle, witnessed only by the Weasleys (minus Ginny, she had never gotten over Harry, her visits to Grimmauld were few and far between) and Minerva, with Kingsley officiating. They had had twins, Daniel looked much like his father, though he had inherited his mother's bushy hair, Lillian looked far more like her mother, though he hair was straight as opposed to bushy, and she had inherited grandmother Lily's eyes. Harry was the unofficial leader of the DA and Order, which had essentially merged into one. Some older wizards were reluctant to listen to a barely of age wizard at first, even if he was the "Boy who lived" and instead took orders from Kingsley.

There hadn't been another big fight since the Battle, and the Order had instead had to rely on a more guerilla warfare style of resistance, raiding storehouses for supplies and taking out high ranking death eaters and ministry workers when possible, as well as searching for Nagini and other horcruxes that Voldemort had made since the battle. Harry was never willing to give the order to kill, he urged the members to use non-lethal spells only unless absolutely necessary, driving many members crazy, they wanted an end to this war and non-lethal spells were not going to get that. It was usually Kingsley or, more recently, Hermione that gave out assassination orders.

While their parents continued to argue over Daniel's involvement in the raid, Daniel and Teddy went upstairs to the training room, in order to get more dueling practice in. Lillian, finally having enough of her parents arguing, broke in.

"Mum, dad, enough. I know you're worried about us and scared about what might happen, but we are of age. We were born into this war and have literally been training for this since we could hold a wand. Mum, please trust that Daniel knows what he's doing, and trust dad to bring him home. Dad….. Don't let anything happen to my brother."

Her parents looked at her slightly ashamed. They had been arguing like schoolchildren, and having their 17 year old daughter take them to task for acting irrationally had been humbling.

"You're right Lily, we're sorry. Why don't you go upstairs and get ready for dinner, your mum and I need to talk and plan. Send your brother down so we can let him know."

The night of the raid had finally arrived. It was going to be a small party this time, only 10 in number, including the Potter parents and Daniel, George and Angelina Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva, Luna Lovegood, and Arthur and Molly Weasley. The rest of the Weasley clan would be waiting on standby to help extract in case things went pear shaped. Bill Weasley and his oldest daughter Victoire would be on hand if they needed wards taken down.

The group apparated a mile away from the Death Eaters storehouse. They had received information that the storehouse contained hard to find potions ingredients, as well as more food and other essentials that the Order was beginning to lack. The disillusioned group crept quickly through the hot, humid night, splitting into two groups as the house approached. A quick check revealed no awards, not even an alarm. Two guards circled the house. Daniel quickly stunned one, while the second group stunned and bound the other. A quick "Alohamora" on the door and a check to make sure no one was watching it, and the Potter's group slipped inside, the other group forming a perimeter outside to keep watch.

Inside the house was a veritable gold mine. A fully equipped potions lab, as well as full stock of food and pantry staples. It was almost tempting to just attempt to seize the house for themselves. Casting a quick muffliato so that no one in the house could hear, they quietly called house elves to start transporting things back to Grimmauld. Once the goods were transferred, the Potter trio crept upstairs to investigate other rooms for items of value. Not much was found, just some basic robes and such that Hermione placed in her extended bag for later use. The last door on the floor was locked. Harry sent Hermione down to join the rest, telling her that he and Daniel would be right behind her if they couldn't unlock the door. After trying several different counter spells, the door finally clicked open. The only thing in the room, besides the furniture, was a small lockbox sitting on the dresser. After checking for dark curses, Harry picked it up to take with them. As per Harry's luck of course, that's when all hell broke loose.


	3. Chapter 3

Cracks of apparition pierced the air as soon as the alarm went off. Harry and Daniel were the only 2 left, their backup having already gone back to the safe house as soon as the house had been cleared. Harry swiftly put the box in his undetectable extension bag while Daniel went to the door to keep watch. The first death eater up the stairs was dispatched with a killing curse before Daniel even knew he was casting the curse. Feeling intense shame due to his father always teaching him and his sister to fight non-lethally if possible, he refused to look back at his father's probably stunned face. The next death eater was felled with a stupefy by Harry. The father and son raced down the hall to the stairs to try and make an escape. Turning at the stairwell they came face to face with 5 more death eaters on their way up the stairs. A fast stupefy from Daniel took one out of the fight, while Harry cast a reducto at the ground to cause the remaining death eaters to scatter.

"Patronus Daniel, distract them!" yelled Harry, before casting his own Patronus charm. Daniel cast his as well, his Hippogriff joining Prongs in attacking the death eaters so the two Potters could escape. Dodging cutting and killing curses, they made their way to the front door and out into the yard. Harry quickly sealed the door to slow down the attacking Death Eaters and ran for the edge of the wards so they could apparate away.

"Dad, wait, I have a faster way" Daniel yelled, and almost before Harry could turn around, a deep brown Hippogriff stood where Daniel had just been.

"Well this is new", Harry joked. "Do I still need to bow?"

The hippogriff looked annoyed and tossed its head toward its back, indicating for Harry to get on. Harry climbed aboard and they took off into the sky, dodging the green jets of the killing curse from the Death Eaters that had finally gotten through the door. They flew at full speed until they were well past the wards. When they finally landed, Daniel transformed back and tey apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Harry and Daniel were immediately wrapped into a tight hug from Hermione. It had apparently taken everyone currently at Grimmauld to keep her from apparating back to the raid site to find out what was taking them so long.

"Your son has been keeping secrets it seems" Harry laughed, and Daniel transformed again to astonished gasps from the group before transforming back.

Harry dropped his bag with Hermione, telling her about the box and asking her to take a look, then went with Daniel upstairs to get looked over by the Order's medics, and have a father son talk about what had just happened.

After they had been cleared by the medics, Harry and Daniel sat quietly. Now that they were safe, the tension and shame had resurfaced.

"So, where did you learn that little trick?" Harry asked, trying to delay the inevitable conversation.

"Found some of Uncle Siri's old notes from his school days in the library. Been working on it for a while, thought it could come in handy considering everything."

"Well, it sure was bloody useful today" Harry remarked, and sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation. "Daniel listen… about what happened back there..."

"Dad please don't lecture me. I know you think I shouldn't have killed him. But we needed to get out of there and simply stunning the enemy doesn't seem to be cutting it anymore if we want to end the war" Daniel interrupted tightly, with a hint of shame to his voice.

"I know" Harry conceded. "I just wanted to say I'm proud of you. I may not agree with your stance on lethal vs non-lethal force, but I'm proud that you were able to stand up and keep you and me safe. I'm also pleased as punch that you were able to get the animagus transformation down at such a young age. I know the marauders accomplished it early, but most wizards take almost 10 years to learn the skill. I know I was never able to accomplish it. We don't have to talk anymore about what happened back there if you don't want to, but if you find yourself having a hard time with it, your mother and I are here, and we understand."

Harry clapped his son on the shoulder and went downstairs for a cup of tea, or perhaps a large glass of firewhiskey. Daniel stayed behind, the thought that he had taken a life really crashing down on him. He sat like that, thinking, for quite a while, before exhaustion finally took over and he wandered to his room, deciding he needed some sleep before he really thought about what had happened.

The next morning saw the remains of the Order gathering at Grimmauld place. Normally meetings were held only once every 2 weeks, and attended just by the leaders of the different safe houses, but the mystery of the box Harry and Daniel had recovered on the previous night's raid brought all members to Grimmauld, mostly out of curiosity. Once breakfast had been served, courtesy of Molly Weasley of course, the box was placed on the table between Harry and Hermione. Harry had Bill come double check that the box had no curses on it and, after receiving the all clear, had opened it.

No one had expected what they would find in the little box, so no one was quite sure how to react when there sat a simple bracelet. Understated in its beauty, it was a simple silver band encrusted with small sapphires and rubies. Not ostentatious by any means, but definitely valuable. Harry reached a hand out to pick up the bracelet, only to have it quickly slapped away by his wife.

"Harry are you nuts? We have no idea what kind of enchantments are on that thing. You can't just reach out and pick it up willy nilly." She chastised.

"Right, sorry. Wasn't thinking clearly. Bill could you please do the honors?"

As Bill set to work it was apparent that it was a good thing Harry hadn't touched the bracelet. Bill seemed to be in intense concentration, clearly sweating with the effort of not only running scans to see what kinds of enchantments were on the bracelet but also trying to identify each individual spell, and break it. Breaking was clearly becoming quite an effort, so bill called over his son, Louis, who had trained in the ways of breaking curses to help him. Having a second set of hands made things slightly easier, though both were becoming visibly fatigued. With a look from Harry, Hermione went over to the restroom and grabbed a few pepper up potions, knowing the curse breakers would need something to restore their energy when they were finished. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Bill and Louis sat back, wiped their brows, and informed Harry that all curses and hexes had been removed and the item was safe to be picked up.

"The only thing you need to be wary of Harry, is that it seems to be a phrase activated portkey. With a couple complicated spells we can tell where it's keyed to go, and we believe this one is keyed to Malfoy Manor, it could be something You-Know-Who uses as an escape route in case a raid goes pear shaped."

"Do you happen to know the phrase?" Hermione asked.

"No, that wouldn't come up in our scans. The only reason it wouldn't show up would be if it's in a language we're not familiar with. Given who the owner was, I believe that this one is set to a phrase in Parseltongue. Harry, I know you and Lillian are Speakers. I would be very careful using Parseltongue around the bracelet until we have time to sit down with you and teach you the spells to decode the activation phrase."

"Thank you Bill, Louis. I think we should put this in the vault in the library until we decide what to do with it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can use this to our advantage?"

Most of the order stayed silent in thought, when Ginny, who had made one of her rare appearances at Grimmauld, spoke up.

"If it goes to Malfoy Manor then it goes straight to snake face's hideout. If we could get a team together to perform a raid, we might be able to get to Nagini and destroy another Horcrux."

Harry and Hermione shared a glance, the idea had merit, but was incredibly risky.

 **A/N:** Sorry this update took so long. Been incredibly busy. Would love a review or two, to know what people do and don't like about my story so far.


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